Calabacitas

Ever get tired of having beans and rice with your Mexican food? I sure do! This is a fresh, easy and healthy alternative side dish to go with any Mexican meal. 

Calabacitas

Ingredients: 

Drizzle of olive oil 

1 small yellow onion, diced 

3 small/medium zucchini

3 small/medium summer squash 

3/4 c. corn kernels (fresh, frozen or canned)

4 oz. can diced green chilies 

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions: 

Drizzle some olive oil in a large skillet and heat over medium. Add the diced onion and sauté until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. 

While onion is sautéing, wash and cut all your squash. Cut each in half lengthwise and then slice into half moon shapes, about 1/4 inch thick. Add to the skillet and sauté another 3-4 minutes. Be careful not to over cook or else the squash will become mushy. 

Add the corn kernels and green chili and cook just until heated though. Lastly, season with salt and pepper to your liking and stir in the shredded cheeee until melted. Makes 8-10 side servings. 

Easiest Stuffed Acorn Squash

I couldn't resist trying one more new squash recipe before we are completely out of the cold months! I found something similar to this one on Pinterest a while ago and just got around to trying it out. I ended up tweaking it quite a bit and came up with something we loved! There was a comment that they didn't look very appetizing (resembling big beetle shells) but that didn't stop them from getting scarfed down. We had them with a side of wild rice and they were super delish!  

 Easiest Stuffed Acorn Squash 

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash, cut in half with seeds removed 

Olive oil, for drizzling 

1/2 c. finely diced celery 

1/2 c. finely diced onion 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

6 oz. box herbed stuffing mix

2 c. chopped fresh spinach 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle the cut sides of the squash with a little olive oil and place cut side down on a baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until flesh is easily pierced with a fork.

While the squash is baking, drizzle a little olive oil in a large skillet, heated over medium. Add the celery, onion and garlic and sauté until tender. I did mine about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, make the stuffing mix in the skillet with the vegetables, according to the package directions.

Once the squash is soft, remove from the oven and scrape out the flesh with a spoon and add to the skillet with the stuffing and vegetables. Add the spinach as well and stir to combine. You'll want to leave about 1/4 inch of flesh inside the squash skins so they can hold the filling. 

Fill each shell with 1/4 of the stuffing mixture and pop back in the oven (cut side up of course!) for another 10 minutes. Makes 4 servings. 

Four Cheese and Spinach Lasagna

Everyone loves a good lasagna! It's such a comforting food. I've made many a lasagna in my day but have never followed a recipe and it never quite turns out the same. This time, the vote from he hubby was that this is the best I've made. Plus it was super quick and easy. So I thought I'd better write it down for future reference :) I hope you'll give it a try too! 

Four Cheese and Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients: 

16 oz. lowfat cottage cheese 

1 small container skim ricotta cheese 

1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese 

4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

2 eggs, lightly beaten 

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained 

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. garlic powder

Sprinkle of salt and pepper to your liking 

1 package no boil lasagna noodles  

26 oz. marinara sauce (our favorite comes in a can from Trader Joes!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 and spray a 13x9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the four cheeses (reserving 2 cups of mozzarella for topping), eggs, spinach and all seasonings until well combined. 

Coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of marinara, add a layer of lasagna noodles and then top with 1/4 of the cheese mixture, spread evenly over the noodles. Next, add another thin layer of sauce, followed by more noodles. Repeat 4 times until all the cheese mixture is gone, ending with a layer of sauce on top. 

Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of mozzarella evenly over the top and bake uncovered for 15 minutes longer. Let stand at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 8-10.